Australian PM touts fiscal discipline in final election campaign lap

Australia PM, trailing in election polls, announces housing policy

(Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a housing policy on Sunday aimed at boosting home ownership and curbing high prices, as his government lags the opposition Labor Party days before a general election. Australians will vote for a government on Saturday, with recent polls showing Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition on track to lose to...

Fiji exports $3.4m worth of kava to Australia in five months

Fiji has already exported around 30.4 metric tonnes of kava to Australia earning around $3.4million in five months after commercial kava export was allowed again to the Land Down Under. Minister for Agriculture Dr Mahendra Reddy revealed this in parliament this week saying this was a substantial gain for Fiji. He says there are 146...

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tests positive for COVID

(Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tested positive for COVID-19 with moderate symptoms, her office said in a statement on Saturday. She will not be in parliament for the government’s emissions reduction plan on Monday and the budget on Thursday, but “travel arrangements for her trade mission to the United States are unaffected...

Fiji’s Fisheries Ministry in discussions with advanced bilateral partners to secure tuna

Fiji’s Minister for Fisheries Semi Koroilavesau says there is ongoing work being carried out with advanced and developed bilateral partners for fishing fleet to meet PAFCO’s albacore demands. “Once Fiji gains access to PNA (Parties to Nauru Agreement) waters, we will need to have a fleet that has the capacity to secure raw materials,” Mr...

Australia’s Morrison vows more empathy if re-elected PM

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised on Saturday to be more empathetic if he wins re-election, as his government continues to trail the opposition Labor Party a week before a general election. Australians go to the voting booths on May 21, with recent polls showing Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition on track to lose...

Australia says Chinese spy ship did not breach law of the sea

SYDNEY (Reuters) -A Chinese intelligence ship tracked off Australia’s west coast within 50 nautical miles of a sensitive defence facility did not breach international maritime laws, Australia said on Saturday. Australia tracked the spy ship over the past week as it sailed past the Harold E Holt naval communications station at Exmouth, in Western Australia,...

Prince William and wife Kate take over UK airwaves to fight loneliness

LONDON (Reuters) – Prince William and his wife Kate took over the airwaves of every radio station in the United Kingdom on Friday to deliver a message encouraging the British public to look out for anyone who might be feeling lonely. The “Mental Health Minute”, featuring the two royals, was played out on more than...

Russian blockade hits exports of Ukrainian agricultural products

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine can export no more than 1.5 million tonnes of agricultural products a month because of a Russian blockade of its ports, First Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskiy said on Friday. He was quoted by Interfax Ukraine news agency as saying that before the blockade Ukraine could export more than 5 million...

Queen Elizabeth visits horse show after missing parliament opening

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who was forced to miss the traditional formal opening on parliament earlier this week, appeared in public on Friday to attend a horse show close to her home. Elizabeth, 96, missed the grand set-piece ceremony at parliament on Tuesday because of what Buckingham Palace described as “episodic mobility problems”. She...

Tuvalu, sinking in the Pacific, fears becoming a superpower ‘pawn’

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Tuvalu fears that climate change, an existential threat to the Pacific nation, is being forgotten and it worries that fellow island nations could become “pawns” in a global competition between China and the United States, its foreign minister said. Simon Kofe told Reuters the superpower competition was a concern, distracting attention from...

Australia says Chinese spy ship’s presence off west coast ‘concerning’

SYDNEY (Reuters) -A Chinese intelligence ship was tracked off Australia’s west coast within 50 nautical miles of a sensitive defence facility, Australia said on Friday, raising concern amid an election campaign about China’s behaviour in the region. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Chinese navy vessel was not in Australian territorial waters but its presence...

Oil up more than 5%, as Russia-EU energy quarrel intensifies

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices rose more than 5% on Wednesday after flows of Russian gas to Europe fell and Russia sanctioned some European gas companies, adding to uncertainty in world energy markets. Oil and gas prices have risen since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February and the United States and allies subsequently imposed heavy...

Google, Meta must find and remove online child pornography under EU draft rules

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Google, Meta and other online service providers will be required to find and remove online child pornography under proposed European Commission rules, a move some privacy groups say could put people’s communications at risk. Companies that fail to comply with the rules face fines up to 6% of their annual income or global...

Four in ten Australians say concern over China an election issue – survey

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Concern about China will impact the way four in ten Australians vote in this month’s national election, according to a university survey that also found voters saw the major political parties as equally well placed to handle the relationship with Beijing. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has put his government’s hawkish stance...

Google unveils artificial intelligence tool for real-world searches

(Reuters) -Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday previewed augmented-reality glasses that display translations of conversations in real time, and it laid out additional plans to bridge the real world and its digital universe of search, Maps and other services using artificial intelligence. Google also teased a tablet to be launched in 2023 and a smartwatch that...

Moderna completes FDA submission for use of COVID shot in adolescents, kids

(Reuters) – Moderna Inc has made all necessary submissions required by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents and children, it said on Wednesday. The company is seeking approval for the use of its vaccines in three distinct age groups – adolescents aged 12 to 17...

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